Pregnant? Get Over It!

I once worked with a pregnant woman who was obsessed with the fact that people on the subway didn't give up their seat for her. She felt that it was their responsibility to do so and her right as a pregnant person to take the seat.

I thought it was ridiculous that she was so offended by those who refused. She's the one who decided to get knocked up. Why should other people have to bend over backwards for her when they had nothing do with it? Doesn't this take away from the idea that women can do it all?

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This is my second pregnancy and I feel like being spoiled ruins the illusion that I can do anything. Part of me wants to suffer through standing in the heat. I want to take the garbage out on my own and carry my 3-year-old across the street. I want to host social gatherings at my house and stay up to watch Top Chef. I would like to move up in the rankings at my job. I would like to prove to the world that being pregnant does not make me weak.

However, the fact of the matter is that I AM weaker. I do not have the stamina I would like to. My ambition has changed from climbing the ladder at work to climbing into bed for a nap. I want to cut every line that I wait on and I'm secretly annoyed when no one offers. I still feel like people don't HAVE to help me, but I sure want them to.

I still believe that there are people who do take advantage of being pregnant. They milk every last morsel until they are sitting down all day long forcing those around them to wait on them hand and foot. Yes, some things are impossible to accomplish alone when pregnant. But the pregnancy divas give all of us a bad name.

There's a fine line between being able to do it all and being able to do nothing. I'm guilty of it, too. Waiting on line may be annoying, but it is doable.